For a Red Rose
by Rand0mSmil3z
Summary: Pippa, Jack's little sister, hasn't been able to go to heaven because of all of the guilt she carries. Jack doesn't know any of this and leaves her a red rose at her grave for her birthday, but then he overhears about this place called heaven, and if he went there he could talk to Pippa. How does one get to heaven, and how can he save Pippa? Upload from my phone - hope this works!


Well, here goes my science experiment. I'm trying to see if I can upload from my phone, because a spark of creativity smacked me right in the face like a snowball filled with rocks. Anyway, this took my two days to write on my phone... Copy-and-pasting will take forever. Gah. I bet there's a limit of something...  
But anyway. This is a science experiment. :) Still making chapter outlines for another story, a request / suggestion actually. I can't write on this phone anymore. It's too painful. But anyway, skied for 7 hours today... Awesome xD Anyway, i really hope this works. D: When i have access to a computer i will clean this up best I can!  
Please enjoy my hard work :D and may the fluff begin.

Springtime. It's the season of new life, the season of budding flowers, the season of fresh beginnings.  
The graveyard was no different. Moss, seeded with dew drops, grew out of the cracks in the cobblestones. Jack was sitting cross-legged in front of Pippa's grave. The warmth from the sun was a tad uncomfortable, but Jack ignored it. After all, he came to wish his little sister a happy birthday and by golly, he was going to do it.  
"Happy birthday Pippa," Jack whispered. The gray gravestone remained silent, but Jack didn't mind. Instead he smiled and said, " I brought you something." From out of his pocket he drew out a red rose, but it had completely frozen over. The sun reflected a thousand different shades of scarlet that danced on the cobblestone like light reflecting off a disco ball.  
"I got it from the Royal Garden in England," he explained, carefully setting the frozen rose in front of the gravestone. "Scared the daylights out of the gardener, I think. He started screaming about flying plants." Jack chuckled at the amusing memory before lapsing back into silence.  
It was a rare day when Jack didn't know what else to say.  
Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him and, when he turned, he saw a whole funeral procession. All of the people were dressed in black, all wore somber faces. But there was a crying boy in the middle, and instantly Jack felt his older-brother instincts kick in.  
Well, that and a little bit of Guardian instincts too.  
"I'll be right back," he whispered to Pippa - not that he expected an answer, but sometimes he liked to pretend. Pretend that Pippa was listening, pretend that she could reply. But Jack has been alive long enough to know that stones aren't very good conversationalists.  
But that wasn't the point.  
Jack gently floated to the crying boy. The kid didn't see him, probably couldn't, and that stung. Not even 300 years of being invisible lessened that pain.  
In Jack's palm be made a small snowflake and gently blew it towards the boy. But it went ignored.  
Suddenly a woman knelt down next to the crying child. She was also wearing black and her eyes were swollen, but she put on a brave face for her son.  
"Grandma's in a better place now," she murmured, drawing the boy into her arms.  
"Where?" the child sobbed.  
The mother gently smiled. "In heaven," she said. Jack could tell she had been crying, had been hurting, but she still smiled. Still smiled for her boy.  
Jack almost looked away it was all so painful, but he couldn't b  
That mother in front of him, holding her child wearing a smile for her son's benefit, reminded Jack of his own mother.  
"I don't want granny to be in heaven!" the boy wailed. "I want granny here, with me!" At thar the child buried his head into his mother's neck, wrapped his smalls arms around her, and cried. Simply cried.  
Tears budded in the mother's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Grandma is in heaven," she murmured, stroking her son's back. "One day we'll all got there too and meet her."  
"R- Really?" the boy sniffed.  
The mother smiled. "Yeah." But it was a sad smile. "We all will one day."  
Jack tore his gaze away - he could feel his own eyes tearing up - and jumped into the sky. The wind easily picked him up and carried him along.  
Heaven? Jack wondered, impatiently wiping his damp eyes. I've never seen Heaven on a map before.  
He decided to ask North about it; after all, the big man circumnavigated the entire globe in a single night. Maybe North could point him in the right direction so Jack could meet Pippa for real.  
He grinned at the thought as he sailed through the chill air, heading in the direction of the North Pole.

Snow sparkled off of the gently rolling hills like gemstones, the air was crisp and cool and fresh.  
Just the way Jack liked it.  
"North!" Jack shouted, bursting from an open window and proceeding to sprint down the hall still hollering North's name. Phil the yeti only rolled bus eyes at the winter spirit's wild antics and continued to clean all of the snow Jack Frost dragged in with him. He had long gotten used to Jack's coming and goings; ever since Jack got his own room he practically lived here now.  
Jack sprinted down the hall. Some elves dove out of his way, sending cookies and hot coco flying. It was a natural instinct for then by now; they've been frozen enough times to remember. After all, elves hated cold feet. Why do you think they wear those ridiculous shoes? For fashion? Wrong! Those curvy, jingly shoes have built in heaters to keep the elves small little feet moasty- toasty, and that's all the reason they needed to wear them.  
"North!" Jack shouted again. "North, where...!"  
"I'm right here," North said, popping out of a nearby door while eating a cookie. Jack nearly ran into him. "What's wrong?" the Russian asked, alarmed. "Where's the fire?"  
"No fire... this time," Jack breathed, catching his breath. He was leaning on his staff for support. "Actually, I was going to ask... for directions."  
North arched an eyebrow. "Directions?"  
"Yeah," said Jack in a rush. "I'm thinking it's near the equator- I don't go down there very much."  
"Alright..." said North, taking a sip of hot coco an elf had recently given him. "What is this place?" North took another sip.  
"Heaven."  
North nearly choked. "Heaven? You're much to young to go to-"  
"I'm 317 years old," Jack said indignantly. "I'm not 'too young' for anything."  
North sighed. "Right. My mistake. But... Why on earth do you want to go to heaven?"  
"To see Pippa," Jack stated. "I overheard at, um, at a funeral that you could travel to heaven and to visit dead people."  
North's expression softened. "Jack, you don't have to go to heaven to see your loved ones."  
"Then where do you go?"  
"You don't have to go anywhere," North grinned, lightly poking Jack's chest, "because they live in your heart."  
Jack scowled. "But that's not the same," he protested. "I want to go to heaven to see her again and talk to her and-!"  
"Your little sister never left you," North said, smiling with a soft expression. "She was always with you, every step of the way, always living in you heart. So, in a sense," North added with a grin, "your sister is immortal - and a Guardian - too."  
Jack turned to look out the window; even though North said so, and North never lies, Jack still didn't feel like Pippa was with him. In fact, he never felt more confused and distanced from everyone.  
"Can I stay here the night?" Jack asked.  
North smiled. "Of course," the big man said cheerfully. "You know where your room is, and holler if you need anything... though you're doing a good job of that already," he added with a grin.  
Jack smiled back. "I will," he said, then turned and headed down the hall. He needed some time to think.  
Behind him, North only shook his head. "Poor kid," he thought out loud, then headed back in the kitchen. Jack needed to work through this on his own - but if he needed help, North would be waiting. After all, he only knew too well what it felt like to watch your family grow old, live out their lives, and then pass away while he stayed young.

Jack was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming because he remembered going to his room to think and the next thing he knew, he was here.  
Where 'here' was.  
It was white on this place, only an unbroken white space. It was warm too, but not uncomfortably so for some reason, and he was alone.  
No. He wasn't alone. There was another woman here, an elderly woman with a worn face and pure white hair. In one wrinkled hand she held a single red rose, and her chestnut eyes looked confused as she looked around trying to figure out where she was.  
Jack frowned; those eyes, he knew those eyes. They were the warmest shade of brown, the richest shade of chocolate. He knew those eyes.  
And then it all clicked.  
Pippa smiled at Jack, noticing him for the first time. But unlike Jack, she had no problem recognizing him. "Jack," she whispered, her voice worn smooth by the years. She was smiling but crying, tears budding in her eyes. "Jack, you're... You're here."  
"I guess I am," Jack murmured, not knowing where 'here' was. But now that Pippa was in front of him, talking to him, he didn't know what to say. 'How are you' seemed so boring, but... he couldn't think of anything else.  
Pippa, an elderly Pippa, smiled at him. It was a sad smile, the saddest smile Jack had ever seen, and it nearly broke his heart. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry for not being stronger, for not being able to save you from the lake that day."  
The lump in Jack's throat hardened to a marble and he hugged Pippa, hugged his little sister for all of the times he wasn't there too. "Don't say sorry," he said, voice strained. "Never say sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about."  
Pippa's eyes widened, and she smiled before hugging her older brother back. "I missed you, Jack."  
"I missed you too," he whispered. "And I love you. Forever," he said, looking at his little sister to make sure she knew it.  
She blinked, then smiled. Her smile wasn't dimmed by the years; it was still the same beautiful smile he remembered.  
"I love you too Jack," she whispers, than chokes out some laughter with tears in her eyes. "I... I thought you hated me."  
Hated... "Hated you?" Jack was stunned. "Why?"  
"Because you fell in the water because of me," she sniffed.  
Suddenly she didn't look like an old woman; to Jack, all he saw was his little sister. The same little sister that clung to him, the same little sister that would shout his name before trying to tackle him.  
The very same.  
"No," Jack said, kneeling down to her level. Pippa sniffed, her eyes full of tears. Maybe she had frozen in time back then to, just like Jack. "No," he repeated with a smile. "I never blamed you for that. Never. It was my mistake; I should have checked to make sure that the ice was thick enough."  
"B-But...!"  
"But nothing," Jack laughed, ruffling Pippa's brown hair. "I'm okay, see? I just look a little different is all."  
"Really?" Pippa didn't look convinced.  
"Would I ever lie to you?" Jack asked with a grin.  
"No," Pippa said, smiling. It was the same beautiful smile Jack remembered. "You tease me instead."  
"Well, I'm not teasing you this time," Jack smiled, still knelt at her level.  
Pippa's smile widened. "Can we play a game, Jack? Like we always do?"  
"Whatever you want to play," Jack promised.  
And so they played tag, played tag in a world of dreams. But Jack wasn't sure it was a dream anymore; it seemed to realistic for that.  
But that didn't matter. Pippa was here, laughing and playing and being a kid, just like before.  
Suddenly there was a bell, the clearest bell Jack had ever heard. It echoed in the pure white landscape of nothing and reverberated down his spine.  
"Oh," Pippa said sadly, looking off into the distance. "I have to go."  
But suddenly she was an old woman again. Jack blinked, stunned; when did that happen?  
But this elderly Pippa turned back to Jack, but she seemed different now. She was brighter, her smile wide and cheerful. It was the same smile, Jack realized.  
"Thank you, Jack," Pippa said. She was fading away, tears dotting her chestnut eyes. "It's time for me to go."  
"Go where?" Jack asked.  
But Pippa didn't reply, only continued saying, "Thank you," over and over and over again.  
But just as she faded away, Jack heard the words, "I will never leave you."

Jack blinked open his eyes. Sunlight was streaming in from the window and illuminated a square on the floor.  
Without warning, Jack jumped out of bed and opened the door, meaning to look for North. But the big man, albiet startled, already stood outside.  
"I was going to ask if you wanted breakfast," North said, then asked, "What's wrong?"  
Jack blinked, almost as if he had never heard thoae foreign words before. "I just had the strangest dream," he said slowly.  
"Well," North said cheerfully, "why don't you tell me about it? I love dreams. Well, maybe not as much as Sandy, but pretty close." With that he ushered the winter spirit out the door and into the hall, then gently closed the door behind him.  
But if they stayed a moment longer they could have seen a red rose, still preserved in a layer of silver ice, sparkling in the winter sunrise.

The End.

Hopefully this works. If not, I'll be very sad hahaha. XD


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